Clinical characteristics of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) diagnosed in patients with long COVID
16.8% of long COVID patients at a Japanese outpatient centre met the ME/CFS criteria, 51.1% were female. Main symptoms were fatigue and PEM, followed by headache and insomnia. To get a fuller picture symptoms would need to be tracked over a longer period of time and housebound patients included.
Research abstract:
Background and Objectives:
COVID-19 can be serious not only in the acute phase but also after the acute phase and some patients develop ME/CFS. There have been few studies on patients with long COVID in whom ME/CFS was diagnosed by physicians based on standardized criteria after examinations and exclusion diagnosis and not based on only subjective symptoms. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the detailed characteristics of ME/CFS in patients with long COVID.
Materials and Methods:
A retrospective descriptive study was performed for patients who visited a COVID-19 aftercare clinic established in Okayama University Hospital [Japan] during the period was from February 2021 to April 2022.
Results:
Clinical data were obtained from medical records for 281 patients, and 279 patients who met the definition of long COVID were included. The overall prevalence rate of ME/CFS diagnosed by three sets of ME/CFS criteria (Fukuda, Canadian and IOM criteria) was 16.8% (48.9% in male and 51.1% in females).
The most frequent symptoms in ME/CFS patients were general fatigue and post-exertional malaise (89.4% of the patients), headache (34.0%), insomnia (23.4%), dysosmia (21.3%) and dysgeusia (19.1%). Dizziness, chest pain, insomnia and headache were characteristic symptoms related to ME/CFS.
The male to female ratio in ME/CFS patients was equal in the present study, although ME/CFS was generally more common in women in previous studies. Given that patients with ME/CFS had more severe conditions in the acute phase of COVID-19, the severity of the acute infectious state might be involved in the pathophysiology of ME/CFS.
Conclusion:
The prevalence rate of ME/CFS and the characteristic sequelae in the long COVID condition were revealed in this study.
Authors: Kazuki Tokumasu; Hiroyuki Honda; Naruhiko Sunada; Yasue Sakurada; Yui Matsuda; Koichiro Yamamoto; Yasuhiro Nakano; Toru Hasegawa; Yukichika Yamamoto; Yuki Otsuka; Hideharu Hagiya; Hitomi Kataoka; Keigo Ueda and Fumio Otsuka
Journal: Medicina 2022, 58(7), 850; [doi.org/10.3390/medicina58070850] Published: 25 June 2022 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in ME/CFS Research and Clinical Care)
As you are aware, we have also established co-production meetings bringing together people with lived experience of a long-term conditions, health professionals, third sectors and organisations across Cardiff and Vale to work together to ensure we are meeting the populations needs. Representatives from The Welsh Association of ME & CFS Support have attended both events to date and we have really valued their insight and contribution to the meetings.
Help us to climb the first column to our fundraising target! Any help with raising funding and spreading the word would be welcome, but we would also like help with:
WAMES fundraising volunteers work from home with support from our Volunteering Coordinator and the Finance and Communications Teams. You decide the number of hours you can offer and all volunteers representing WAMES are covered by insurance. Want to know more?
During 2021 and early 2022 thousands of clinicians, patients and carers throughout the UK worked together to identify areas of ME/CFS that need to be researched. An ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) was set up to determine what should be prioritised.
“Now that we have the Top 10+, researchers, funders and government must work with people with ME/CFS to produce the highest quality research into these areas, and continue to prioritise ME”
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Our income has dwindled, so we won’t be able to pay our basic bills after this year.
Volunteering for a few hours a month is a small time commitment for an individual but can make a big difference to our ability to carry out WAMES’ activities.
Our volunteer Jacob spent the weekend setting up a new page and over the next month we will be learning how to use it.
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On Saturday 28th May, 
The Women’s Health Wales report is a collaborative, co-produced report that outlines 26 areas of healthcare where women, girls, and those assigned female at birth are disproportionately impacted. It includes a range of physical and mental health conditions and issues which might affect this population at different points in their lives and makes a series of recommendations we wish to see implemented to improve their health, lives, and wellbeing – both now and for future generations.
